1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a cutting device and a tape printing apparatus equipped therewith.
2. Related Art
Heretofore, a tape printing apparatus has been known which carries out a printing on, while feeding, a tape-like member wherein a printing tape (coated with an adhesive) and release paper are stacked, and when the printing is finished, cuts off a portion on which the printing is done, making a label. The label made is used by stripping the printing tape from the release paper, and affixing it to a desired affixing surface. Also, the cutting has a full cutting, which cuts both the printing tape and release paper of the tape-like member by means of a full cutter, and a half cutting which cuts either the printing tape or release paper by means of a half cutter. By carrying out the half cutting, it is possible to make it easy to strip the printing tape from the release paper.
Structures of a full cutting device and half cutting device incorporated in the tape printing apparatus include, for example, JP-A-2002-103281.
With JP-A-2002-103281, the full cutting device, being configured including a fixed blade and a movable blade pivotably supported on the fixed blade via a pivot, carries out the full cutting in the form of scissors. Also, the half cutting device is configured including a half cutter, which has a cutter blade configured of an inclined blade, and a cutter operation mechanism, which causes the half cutter to carry out a circulatory movement circulating through a cutting stand-by position, a cutting start position, a cutting completion position, and a withdrawal position, and returning to the cutting stand-by position, wherein the half cutter moves in a width direction of the tape-like member, and carries out the half cutting on the tape-like member. Also, the half cutting device, by causing the cutter blade to move along the whole width direction region of the tape-like member, carries out the half cutting.
However, with JP-A-2002-103281, as the cutting device is configured including the full cutting device carrying out the full cutting and the half cutting device carrying out the half cutting separately, there is a problem in that the cutting device becomes larger in size. Along with this, there is a problem in that the tape printing apparatus including the cutting device also becomes larger in size. Also, as the half cutting device needs to cause the cutter blade to move along the whole width direction region of the tape-like member, there is a problem in that the half cutting device becomes larger in size in the movement direction (the width direction of the tape-like member).
Consequently, there has been a demand for a cutting device, with which it is possible to share the full cutting device and half cutting device, and it is possible to achieve a miniaturization in the width direction of the tape-like member, and for a tape printing apparatus including the cutting device.